In a stunning turn of events at the Maharaja Yadavindra Singh International Cricket Stadium, Punjab Kings (PBKS) etched their name into the wrong side of IPL history during Qualifier 1 of the IPL 2025 season. Facing a rampant Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB), PBKS crumbled to a meager total of 101 runs in just 14.1 overs, marking one of the lowest scores in IPL playoff history and a nightmarish performance on home soil.
The match began with high expectations for PBKS, led by captain Shreyas Iyer, who had guided the team to a strong campaign thus far. However, RCB’s pace battery, featuring the lethal trio of Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Yash Dayal, and Josh Hazlewood, dismantled the top order in a fiery powerplay.Reduced to 48/4 within the first six overs, PBKS failed to recover from the early blows. Yash Dayal struck first blood by dismissing opener Priyansh Arya in the second over, while Bhuvneshwar Kumar sent the explosive Prabhsimran Singh (18) back to the pavilion. Hazlewood, making a remarkable comeback from injury, scalped Iyer and Josh Inglis in quick succession, leaving the hosts reeling.
Amid the ruins, Marcus Stoinis showed brief resistance with a fighting 26 off 17 balls, but his departure at the hands of young leg-spinner Suyash Sharma (3/17) sealed PBKS’s fate. Sharma wreaked havoc in the middle overs, removing Shashank Singh and Musheer Khan in the same over, effectively breaking the backbone of the Punjab batting lineup. Hazlewood finished with impressive figures of 3/21, while Yash Dayal claimed 2/26, ensuring RCB’s dominance.
This collapse wasn’t just a defeat; it was a historic low. PBKS registered the shortest completed innings in IPL playoff history at 14.1 overs, surpassing Delhi Capitals’ unwanted record of 16.1 overs from 2008. The score of 101 is tied for the third-lowest total in IPL playoff history, alongside Lucknow Super Giants’ 101 against Mumbai Indians in 2023. Here’s a look at the lowest team totals in IPL playoffs:
- 82 – Deccan Chargers vs RCB, DY Patil, 2010 (3rd place playoff)
- 87 – Delhi Capitals vs Rajasthan Royals, Mumbai WS, 2008 (Semi-final)
- 101 – Lucknow Super Giants vs Mumbai Indians, Chennai, 2023 (Eliminator)
- 101 – Punjab Kings vs RCB, Mullanpur, 2025 (Qualifier 1)
- 104 – Deccan Chargers vs Chennai Super Kings, DY Patil, 2010 (Semi-final)
Adding to the ignominy, this marks PBKS’s fourth instance of being bowled out for under 111 runs in IPL history, with three of those collapses coming against RCB. Previous lows include 73 against Rising Pune Supergiant in 2017, and 88 against RCB in 2015 and 2017. Even at their home ground in Mullanpur, PBKS couldn’t escape the jinx, having also been dismissed for 111 against Kolkata Knight Riders earlier in the 2025 season.
As the dust settles on this one-sided encounter, RCB stands with one foot firmly in the IPL 2025 Final, their bowling attack proving to be a class apart. For Punjab Kings, the road to redemption now hinges on Qualifier 2, but the scars of this historic collapse at Mullanpur will linger. Can Shreyas Iyer and his men bounce back from this debacle, or has RCB delivered a knockout blow? Cricket fans await the next chapter in this dramatic IPL saga.